Ticking By
by WindowChild
Summary: Katiniss's days in the Hunger Games, as told by a 50 sentence prompt. KatnissPeeta.


A/N: I googled 50 sentence prompts, and took the first one I got.

**1 - Grief**

Katniss felt proud of her tears for Rue; they were supposed to be living a life of hate and violence, and in her grief she beat the system.

**2 - Efficient**

The Games, for all of their vile flaws, helped Katniss to truly understand the asset that was practicality.

**3 - Messy**

Besides the splattering of blood, the Hunger Games arena was pristinely cleaned and organized; that's what made it so eerie and unnatural.

**4 - Heckle**

Watching from home, Prim wanted to jump up and shout at the other contestants; why did they have a right to survive, when her sister was out there?

**5 - Kill**

In the end, that was the objective; even dressed up with prefixes and prizes, it was still murder.

**6 - Wary**

From the moment they began, Katniss knew whom she had to watch for.

**7 - Grave**

Rue's grave was a historical thing for the Hunger Games, since before then, no one but the winner had ever been remembered.

**8 - Hunter**

It was who she was, and she lived and breathed that way during the Games.

**9 - Ghost**

Katniss had never believed in them, but a part of her wished that a ghost of her father would come and be her guide.

**10 - Love**

It took her a while to love Peeta; she trusted him, and cared for him beyond measure, but love was something she gave out sparingly.

**11 - Work**

The job of retrieving dinner for herself became something of a familiar distraction, and Katniss looked forward to it.

**12 - Bad Day**

The days bled together so well, that it became hard to distinguish the good from the bad.

**13 – Boot**

Glancing at her feet, and the way her nails were overgrown and filthy, she wished she could have shoes permanently attached to her feet.

**14 - Boring**

You could never be bored, because the moment you were, you lost focus just enough to get stabbed in the back.

**15 -Vehicle**

On her quest for water, Katniss dreamed of cars; she'd rarely seen them, but had heard that they made transportation speedy.

**16 - Joy**

The closest she came to feeling it, was in Peeta's arms.

**17 - Death  **

It was inevitable, and a revolting sign of hope; every death meant they were nearer to the end.

**18 - Face**

Face to face was Cato, was the way she'd thought it would end; the real way so much worse.

**19 - Happy**

It was a stranger when she was home, but in the Games it was almost impossible.

**20 - Muse**

Without a guiding force, it was only Katniss making the decisions, but she was used to it, and it felt okay.

**21 - Snow**

All they ever got was rain, and it made things all the darker.

**22 - Thanks**

She wanted to give it to Gale, for teaching her to hunt, to Haymitch, for showing her how to live, and most of all to Peeta – he gave her hope.

**23 - Year**

They weren't there for all that long, but sometimes it felt like a lifetime.

**24 - Berate**

In hindsight, Katniss was able to mark Effie's reprimands as tough love.

**25 - Art**

Rue's grave was the closest Katniss had seen to beauty in a long time; she felt pride in the fact that her own hand had created it.

**26 - Beach**

Katniss had never heard of the idea, but her subconscious dreamed of a place just as peaceful.

**27 - Debt**

No matter how things ended up, Katniss knew that was forever in Peeta's debt; on her own she was a contender, together they were the public's favorite.

**28 - Day**

The light had nothing to do with anything; daytime was just as dangerous as night.

**29 - Shadow**

Every shadow could be a predator, waiting behind a tree to pounce - you could never be too careful.

**30 - Introspective**

She and Peeta were neither introverts nor extroverts, which is maybe what made them such a good match.

**31 - Music**

While Rue was alive, she still didn't understand the girl's love for it; it was only after her death, that she understood the true solace of a song.

**32 - Night**

Late at night, curled up in Peeta's arms, she allowed herself to feel a little bit safe.

**33 - Sick**

Thinking about all of the deaths, Katniss figured she would have to drink like Haymitch, in order to stop feeling so sick.

**34 - Live**

It was all she allowed herself to want, until the end, when it seemed like it might happen.

**35 - Free**

As she sat under the penetrating gaze of Snow, she knew she would never be free again.

**36 - Write**

She was not very creative, but every so often Katniss got the urge to write down her story.

**37 - Cake**

It was a food she would always associate with the days before the game, and the new cornucopia of experiences that waited for her.

**38 - Dream**

Dreaming may have been peace, but then waking up afterwards was hell.

**39 - Gift**

Each gift from a sponsor was a reminder, that maybe they weren't so alone.

**40 - Health**

When death is a possibility, you don't think so much about bruises or about small ailments.

**41 - Help**

She could not have won without Peeta or Gale's help; the difference was, Gale helped her whole life, and Peeta helped her for the worst part of it.

**42 - Poetry**

Rue had compared music to it, saying that both were something pretty and untouchable.

**43 - Random**

The wolves, while cruel and terrible, also seemed to come from nowhere.

**44 - Ray**

The sun's rays were bright, mocking the anguish and fear with their dazzling heat.

**45 - Mix**

When she'd first seen everyone, Katniss had first thought of what a strange group they seemed.

**46 - Clothes**

They were a necessity, but they still ranked under food as a priority.

**47 - Comfort**

It was a comfort to have Peeta around, just as it had been a comfort to have Rue; Katniss realized then, that what she feared the most was being alone.

**48 - Crime**

In causing both her and Peeta to live, Katniss knew she had committed high treason; at first, she didn't care, but she knew that she would in time.

**49 - Missing**

She missed her mother and sister and Gale at every moment, but the ache grew gentler with Peeta by her side.

**50 - Paranormal**

Magical forces had brought her to the Games and to the Boy with the Bread - they also lead her to victory.

A/N: I would love it if you would leave reviews, and tell me what you think. Thanks for reading! : )


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